The Alberta School of Performing Arts, Tuscaloosa AL

Original Research by School Decision on The Alberta School of Performing Arts

The Alberta School of Performing Arts is a regular public school in Tuscaloosa serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Its name signals a focus on the arts, but the data available did not include specific program offerings, so parents would need to ask the school directly about the scope of its performing arts curriculum. The school is part of Tuscaloosa City Schools, a district that recently approved a bond referendum for new construction and renovations across its campuses, including a new high school building, indicating significant capital investment in facilities.

Enrollment is moderate for a PK-8 school. A very large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a higher-poverty context. The student body is predominantly Black, with smaller shares of white and Hispanic students and other groups represented. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported.

On state assessments, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile relative to districts in Tuscaloosa County. That strength, however, is not uniform. In English language arts, performance is broadly solid, with a clear upward trend from lower to middle grades; the later elementary and middle grades show a strong majority of students meeting proficiency. Math tells a more mixed story. Early elementary grades show roughly one in three students proficient, and the rate drops sharply in seventh and eighth grades. Sixth grade stands as an outlier, with a much higher proficiency rate, a pattern a parent might want to explore with the school to understand how instruction or student groups differ at that grade. Science scores are available only for fourth and eighth grades; fourth-grade results are very low while eighth-grade results are markedly higher. Because the school ends at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to evaluate.

The school is located in Tuscaloosa, a city shaped by the University of Alabama’s dominant presence and a mix of residential, commercial, and industrial development. Mercedes-Benz operates a major assembly plant in the county, and healthcare and education anchor the local economy. The city was struck by a devastating tornado years ago that spurred extensive rebuilding. Home values in the school’s ZIP code are below the state median, and rents are moderate, which may be a consideration for families evaluating the area.

Overall, The Alberta School of Performing Arts offers a combination of a declared arts identity and a testing record that varies by subject and grade. For a family already in the Alberta neighborhood or drawn to a performing arts focus, the school provides a PK-8 pathway within a district undertaking facility upgrades. The uneven math and science results, particularly the low proficiency in some grades, are worth a direct conversation with the school to understand curriculum and support. The absence of program details and student-support data means that families will need to gather more information directly to get a full picture of what the school offers day to day.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 334%

School 34% · District 44% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 431%

School 31% · District 42% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 44% · ▼ 11 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 673%

School 73% · District 27% · ▲ 46 pts above district

▲ 45 pts above state median · ▲ 48 pts above county median

Grade 723%

School 23% · District 21% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 820%

School 20% · District 21% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 346%

School 46% · District 61% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 437%

School 37% · District 57% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 63% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 673%

School 73% · District 46% · ▲ 27 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 776%

School 76% · District 48% · ▲ 28 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 873%

School 73% · District 52% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Science

Grade 412%

School 12% · District 30% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 860%

School 60% · District 39% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

This schoolTuscaloosa City, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.